


Respite from Town Council Meetings

by A Magiluna Stormwriter (ariestess)



Series: Annealed [6]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Romantic Fluff, Shopping, Texting, meetings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2019-01-07 13:36:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12233910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariestess/pseuds/A%20Magiluna%20Stormwriter
Summary: She has come to treasure her lover's unerring penchant for justknowingwhen Regina needs her.





	Respite from Town Council Meetings

**Author's Note:**

> Date Written: 4 August - 30 September 2017  
> Word Count: 2694  
> Recipients: trinaadeckers & oparu  
> Summary: She has come to treasure her lover's unerring penchant for just _knowing_ when Regina needs her.  
>  Spoilers: Pre-series canon divergent AU of the entire series, but anything we know about Regina & Maleficent still holds mostly true.  
> Warnings: No standard warnings apply.  
> Series: Annealed  
> Website: ShatterStorm Productions – Doggie Duo  
> Link to: http://bdkk.shatterstorm.net/  
> Archive: ShatterStorm Productions & AO3 only…all others ask for permission & we'll see…  
> Feedback: Constructive criticism is always welcome.
> 
> Author’s Disclaimer: "Once Upon a Time," the characters, and situations depicted are the property of Adam Horowitz, Edward Kitsis, Kitsis/Horowitz, and ABC Studios. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes. Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. This site is in no way affiliated with "Once Upon a Time," ABC, or any representatives of the actors.
> 
> Author’s Notes: This story has been a long time coming, to say the least. I've been teasing poor Carissa for two months now with this fic. It all started with me and Shatterpath "shopping" for the muses at the local Fred Meyer. This is a game we play where we look at the clothes on display and determine what would work for which characters we like to write for. I took a bunch of pictures of things that I thought Mal would buy and/or consider buying for herself and Regina. And then I began to build the story around it. But first I had to create the 20 text screenshots, which took a whole afternoon and evening in and of themselves. And then I got distracted by other things and the story didn't end up being written until the last 36 hours or so.
> 
> And yes, before you say it, the text screenshots are created for an iPhone 7 and the clothes are from May to August 2017, but this story takes place in October of 2008. Yes, it's three years before the pilot of _Once Upon a Time_. Just go with it, okay?
> 
> All text solely written in _"italics"_ is indicative of text messages.
> 
> Dedication: My muses, as usual…
> 
> Beta: theonlyspl is my favorite beta bitch. Any errors remaining are all on me…

If there's one thing that Regina Mills hates the most about the curse in Storybrooke, it's the meetings. Particularly the monthly town council meetings where money and influence are involved. She almost prefers returning to the audiences with the peasants that she was forced to endure back in the Enchanted Forest. Anything would be better than a Friday filled with blowhards and petty officials who wish to become petty tyrants over all they survey. Too bad none of them realize that all of their blustering and posturing is for naught. No one will rule Storybrooke but her. Forever.

The buzz of her phone startles her. Picking it up, she smiles as she sees a new text notification from Mal. She has come to treasure her lover's unerring penchant for just _knowing_ when Regina needs her. The idiots are still gathering together -- Will they _ever_ all arrive on time? -- so she indulges herself in the diversion that Mal unknowingly offers.

The very thought of Mal buying her clothes sends a shiver of icy fear down her spine. She loves the woman dearly, but sometimes her sense of fashion leaves something to be desired. Not the clothes that Mal herself wears; Regina likes those a lot, truth be told. And the buttery soft t-shirts that she steals to sleep in, when Mal lets her sleep in clothes, smell like her lover and make her feel as safe as Mal's arms around her.

The sweater definitely has potential. A smile curls up her lips as she imagines wearing it for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner with Mal and Henry at the mansion. Curled up into Mal's side on the sofa in front of the fireplace, glasses of wine in their hands, as they watch Henry lying on his stomach on the carpet as he plays with his toys or colors in his coloring books. She never used to think she could have nights like that. Back in the Enchanted Forest, even when she and Mal were involved, she never felt like she could honestly have everything she ever wanted. After the trauma of Daniel's death and her marriage to Leopold, life felt completely out of her control. Not even beginning to learn magic from Rumpelstiltskin had given her as much sense of self and _hope_ as being with Mal. And by then, it was already leaning toward too late for her to regain her rapidly deteriorating sanity as she drowned in darkness.

A new message from Mal pulls Regina from her thoughts.

           _"I don't know how to take that, Kitten."_

Regina rolls her eyes and fires back a quick _"Answer my question, Malinda."_ She chuckles softly at Mal's verification of her question. Glancing around the room at the idiot peacocks she's been saddled with on this committee, she returns to her conversation, assuring her lover that the sweater would be appreciated and worn in the coming cold months of Maine winter. When Mal cryptically says there are other things in her cart, she gets a bit concerned, but can't offer anything more than a token warning of her name before Albert Spencer calls the meeting to order.

She's not even sure _why_ Albert Spencer is on this particular committee. After the past twenty years of dealing with his pompous cursed persona, Regina wishes she could return to the casting of the curse and make him some sort of janitor or something. Really, he was never a proper ally to have, but he had money and soldiers, and he had that same burning hatred for Snow White and her charming prince. That's the only reason he was given a better deal in the curse than most others. If given the chance, she'd _definitely_ change his cursed persona to something less pleasant. 

"Tell me, Madam Mayor, what do you think?"

_Speak of the devil…_

Regina takes the time to set her phone aside and meet the gaze of each of the twelve members of the council, saving Spencer for last. Most don't hold it for long, glancing nervously down at their papers or adjust their ties. It amuses her to see them all still so damned afraid of her. If they saw how she was in private with Mal and Henry, they'd never let her run things like she's meant to. As it is, this whole egalitarian council business annoys her still. These men shouldn't get any say in how to run _her_ town.

"Honestly, Albert, I thought we'd be past this by now. I've made my thoughts on the subject quite clear several times. It's not my fault that you have the retention of a water flea." The former king splutters and scowls at her, which only garners him a low, dark chuckle. "Look, we're here all day. How long do you want to spend beating this dead horse before we move on to things that are far more important than precisely how many parking spots should be allotted to town council members and what the pecking order is for them. You already work in the building as District Attorney, Albert, and have a pretty cushy spot as it is. Don't be such a greedy bastard."

"I don't think that's exactly--"

"I swear to God, if you tell me that I'm being anything other than utterly fed up with your machinations, I will reach across this table and slap the words out of your mouth myself."

It's not until there's complete silence in the room that Regina realizes she's actually voiced her thoughts. She takes a long drink from her bottle of water, using the time to calm herself down. She can't lose her temper with these idiots again like that. And she fervently wishes again that she could be with Mal right now, rather than stuck here. Clearing her throat, she glances down at the meeting agenda and the notepad she's been doodling on.

"And now that we've established that parking spaces are no longer allowed on the agenda for a full year, let's move on to an item _actually_ listed as necessary for this meeting."

Another twenty minutes passes before Regina's phone buzzes again. Spencer glares at the sound, but says nothing. They all know that she is allowed her phone for issues regarding her son. She knows that most of them are too cowed to let their phones distract them, and that's just fine with her. Once she put Spencer in his place, the sycophants all returned to business.

Regina nearly chokes as she looks at her phone, quickly reaching for her water again. After firing off a definitive refusal to her lover's question, she turns her phone face down and pointedly ignores it, not even tempted to look at what is clearly Mal's response. She returns to the discussion on what to do about the geese and their droppings around the park's pond. She knows what will stop the geese from shitting all over the place, but can't very well suggest it. First off, it would look bad for the mayor to be so anti-animals. More importantly, Henry and Mal love to chase after the big birds, him on her shoulders as if he's flying. There's no way in any land out there that she'd do anything to purposely upset her son.

Once they determine that they'll just put a couple of extra gardeners on the problem, she calls a brief recess to let people stretch their legs and refill their drinks. She takes this opportunity to check her phone again. For a moment she feels bad enough for worrying Mal that she nearly calls to reassure her, but ends up responding with something she's said to her lover before.

It's not an apology for ignoring her, but a teasing reminder that sometimes Mal's sense of humor runs a bit too much for her. The woman had always kept a teasing edge to her words, even back in the Enchanted Forest, and sometimes her particular wit cut deep for Regina. She loves Mal as much as she's ever loved anyone else. Definitely as much as Daniel. She still can't quite bring herself to saying she loves Mal more than Daniel. If she does, then everything she's done since the casting of the curse would be worthless, and she's likely never going to be ready to say that. Plus, there's no way she'll ever let Snow White win, not while she still draws breath into her lungs.

She asks about Henry before returning to the meeting. At least this time everyone is more on task, though she doesn't like the strange gleam in Spencer's eyes. It won't bode well for her if he gets too cocky and tries to challenge her power. She may have to do something drastic if he doesn't back down soon.

The meeting shifts to a discussion of the renovations required out by the old toll bridge and along the stretch of highway from the town limits through to Main Street. She's more than willing to approve the work for both. It keeps up the veneer of the curse and it's not like she didn't give the town a budget that would rival several of the larger cities in this land. If the people are busy with work and their mundane, boring lives, they can't start causing trouble. Her eyes return to Spencer as she feels his stare on her face. It's like looking into the face of an Agrabahn Viper that doesn't realize it's lost all of its venom. She'll have to come up with some sort of involved, juicy case for him to try. Something that will occupy his time until he forgets that she's mocked his masculinity again.

By the time Regina can put the meeting on hold for lunch, she's about ready to spit nails and aim them at Albert Spencer. All she needs to do is put in a call to Sidney to get a little smear campaign going. Maybe something dealing with Mo French? She hasn't given him any trouble since before Henry came into her and Mal's lives.

She excuses herself under the pretense of needing to check on Henry as Ruby Lucas starts to bring in the food catered for their lunches. She sits on the couch in her office, heels off to relax her aching feet. Perhaps a massage later tonight from Mal will help. Glancing at her phone, she rolls her eyes and chuckles at the picture of the hideous swimsuit that Mal sends her, knowing her lover is being a brat on purpose. But when she sees the jackalope t-shirt, her heart skips a beat imagining Mal wear it and those sexy little black boyshorts that she loves, long blonde hair falling in gentle curls around the antlers. She can see the golden flecks in Mal's eyes standing out more because of the shirt's color.

The dress Mal offers her next is tempting. It's a little less formal than she prefers to wear to keep up appearances, but it's exactly the kind of thing she'd wear on date night with Mal. Before she can do more than promise to consider wearing it for Mal, there's a knock on the door, accompanied by Sidney's obsequious voice. Feet slip reluctantly back into heels as she apologizes and lets Mal know that she's loved. Receiving the same back eases some of the tightness in her chest at being away from her lover and their son today.

"Once more into the fray," she mutters before plastering on her best mayoral smile and opens the door to see Sidney waiting for her. Swallowing down her disgust as his besotted expression, she lets him take her arm and guide her back to the conference room. On the way there, she lays out her plan for him to do a little digging into issues with Mo French, something that can keep Spencer busy. And like the toadying sycophant that he is, Sidney promises to deliver.

Lunch is filled with even more peacock posturing among the men. She almost wishes she could find a way to get Mal on the council just to have someone to talk to. She'd talk to the _wolfling_ if she had the chance, but Eugenia Lucas doesn't allow the girl off the leash for very long at a time. And for good reason, of course.

Just before reconvening the meeting, she checks her phone again and sends _"My god, but these people love to talk about themselves"_ to her lover. The reply is almost instantaneous.

           _"I'm sorry. I got a bunch of new tanks for when I'm working. Wanna see?"_

That brings a smile to Regina's lips. _"Of course, I do! I love watching you work."_ Twenty-four years into this curse and she still can't get over the sight of her lover in her element. The play of muscles under that creamy skin gets her worked up faster than even the sight of Mal completely naked and spread-eagle on her bed. Regina nightly prays that Mal will continue with the glassblowing if the curse should ever be broken. Not that she has anything to worry about. The Savior likely didn't survive her trip through the wardrobe anyway. What newborn could withstand that sort of upheaval?

Their conversation continues with a half dozen other pictures of clothes for both of them. Regina actually likes almost all of the things that Mal's shown her over the course of the day so far. _Almost_. The ones she hasn't liked have clearly been shared to get a rise out of her, and she now finds that she's all right with that. It's kept her from getting overly stressed out because of the idiot men she has to deal with. The rest of the meeting flies by until Albert Spencer himself gets a phone call and forces an impromptu break so he can deal with it. Regina wonders if Sidney's already caused trouble, but doubts it. While the man is good at what he does, he's not _that_ fast on his turnaround. No, this must be something else.

She takes advantage of the down time to check her messages again.

It heartens her to know that Mal is done shopping and willingly is getting a meal at the diner. Mal's always been a private person, usually preferring to have pizza or something similar delivered to the shop. Regina wants to reward her lover for dealing with people all day. The chocolate silk pie is her reward for surviving these meetings without anyone getting maimed or killed, though Spencer came close to having a pencil jabbed into his throat a couple of times.

Regina knows that when she gets home from this hellacious day at the office, she'll be greeted by her lover and their son. No doubt there will be some sort of mess to be cleaned up, but she doesn't care. She's _still_ trying to make it up to Mal for the huge fight they'd had over a year ago now over Mal exercising her rights as Henry's guardian and co-parent to take him out of school for a day of fun together. Mal has told her repeatedly that she doesn't need to keep apologizing, but Regina knows that her insecurities and fears will be the death of this relationship if she's not careful, and she'd rather die than lose Mal or Henry at this point. Mal may upset her, even piss her off on a semi-regular basis, but she knows the depths of love that Mal possesses, even in this cursed version of herself.

Smiling, she sets aside her phone and picks up her pen to start writing a little checklist of things she wants to do for Mal tonight once Henry's safely tucked away in bed: bottle of wine; the chocolate silk pie if it's available, finger foods if it's not; a long soak in the tub; and a decadent massage that will turn Mal's pale eyes a deeper shade of sapphire with need. If all goes well, they'll both pass out in sated exhaustion and Henry will sleep in instead of his usual habit of waking up at the crack of dawn on Saturday mornings.

**Author's Note:**

> You can see the full set of screenshots of the text conversation over on tumblr.
> 
> [Part 1](https://annealed-dragonqueen.tumblr.com/post/165925098346/respite-from-town-council-meetings-the-messages)   
>  [Part 2](https://annealed-dragonqueen.tumblr.com/post/165925101321/respite-from-town-council-meetings-the-messages)   
>  [Part 3](https://annealed-dragonqueen.tumblr.com/post/165925102461/respite-from-town-council-meetings-the-messages)   
>  [Part 4](https://annealed-dragonqueen.tumblr.com/post/165925103841/respite-from-town-council-meetings-the-messages)   
>  [Part 5](https://annealed-dragonqueen.tumblr.com/post/165925104981/respite-from-town-council-meetings-the-messages)   
>  [Part 6](https://annealed-dragonqueen.tumblr.com/post/165925106206/respite-from-town-council-meetings-the-messages)   
>  [Part 7](https://annealed-dragonqueen.tumblr.com/post/165925107431/respite-from-town-council-meetings-the-messages)


End file.
